By Paul Lubienecki, PhD

The Village of Black Rock was a separate governmental entity  until Buffalo forcibly annexed it in 1854. Black Rock competed with Buffalo to be the terminus of the new Erie Canal which meant increased business development and commercial growth for the victor. Ultimately Buffalo was selected but business and industry were already an integral part of Black Rock’s development.

Due to its geographic position and secure harbor the early explorers and settlers established trading posts at Black Rock. It became a vital portage for trade and commercial traffic around the Great Lakes. When the Canal opened in 1825 Black Rock was an established center for business and industry. Warehouses, mills, small factories and steam engine shops were located along the water’s edge.  Commercial Street (Breckenridge St) was the business hub of the village.

The canal lock was the basis for the commercial development. As the canal boats waited in the lock for the water level to change, business men unloaded some of the produce and other goods.  Selling the wheat, lumber, iron and other raw materials that moved down the canal the local entrepreneurs created a neighborhood-based economy.

By the late 1830s and early 1840s the canal towpath in Black Rock,  at the foot of Amherst, Austin and Hertel, had become a significant manufacturing center with several flour mills, cooperages (barrel factories), and lumber mills. Remains of this early period in Black Rock’s history can still be found near Austin Street and Dearborn and Amherst Streets.

The lack of adequate transportation reinforced Black Rock’s isolation. Because of this, Black Rock developed as a self-sufficient entity, legally linked but physically separate from the rest of Buffalo. This actually enhanced its development.

With its own economic base along the Erie Canal, a vibrant small but self-sufficient economy evolved and the Black Rock Businessmen’s Association was established.   The community’s  social and religious life,  rooted in diverse ethnic neighborhoods, created a loyalty that reached into the factories and commercial firms. 

It was the railroad that aided in  the  economic development of the village.  In 1833 the Belt Line, a freight and passenger line was completed. This opened up the area